pickup

American  

[pik-uhp] / ˈpɪkˌʌp /

noun

• pickups
  plural

1. an improvement, as in health, business conditions, work, production, etc.

2. Informal. pick-me-up.

3. Informal. a casual, usually unintroduced acquaintance, often one made in hope of a sexual relationship.

4. an instance of stopping for or taking aboard passengers or freight, as by a train, ship, taxicab, etc., especially an instance of taking freight or a shipment of goods onto a truck.

5. the person, freight, or shipment so taken aboard.

   The cab driver had a pickup at the airport who wanted to be driven to the docks.

6. Automotive.

   1. capacity for rapid acceleration.

   2. acceleration; increase in speed.

   3. Also called pickup truck. a small truck with a low-sided open body, used for deliveries and light hauling.

7. Baseball. the act of fielding a ball after it hits the ground.

8. Also called cartridge. a small device attached to the end of a phonograph tone arm that contains a stylus and the mechanism that translates the movement of the stylus in a record groove into a changing electrical voltage.

9. Radio.

   1. the act of receiving sound waves in the transmitting set in order to change them into electrical waves.

   2. a receiving or recording device.

   3. the place from which a broadcast is being transmitted.

   4. interference.

10. Television.

    1. the change of light energy into electrical energy in a television camera.

    2. camera tube.

    3. a telecast made directly from the scene of an action.

11. a hitchhiker.

12. Metalworking. (in the cold-drawing of metal) the adhesion of particles of the metal to the die or plug.

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adjective

1. composed of or employing whatever persons are available on a more or less impromptu basis.

   a pickup game of baseball; a pickup dance band.

2. using whatever ingredients are handy or available.

   a Sunday night pickup supper.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pickups
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pickup

First recorded in 1855–60; noun use of verb phrase pick up

Explanation

A pickup is a truck with an open bed, perfect for helping a friend move into a new apartment. It's also the act of picking something up — so you might make the furniture pickup in your pickup. The meanings of pickup include takeout: "I ordered the pad Thai for pickup." It also means "acceleration," like your dad's speedy car with amazing pickup or the pickup in sales at your lemonade stand on a hot day. And in sports a pickup game is impromptu and casual. As for a light truck with a closed cab, pickup is short for pickup truck, named after how handy it is for picking things up and delivering them.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pickup pickups

Lane said the European Central Bank has not detected any noticeable pickup in wages to date.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

In San Francisco, the drop-off and pickup spots are at the rental-car center or Grand Hyatt airport hotel and you have to take the airport train.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Still, after years of strong credit performance, a pickup in losses could be jarring.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Tesla also delivered 8,295 “other vehicles,” a category that is primarily made up of Cybertruck electric pickup trucks.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

“I finished my pickup at the nursery and thought I’d come back to check in.”

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers

GM hiked its full-year profit forecast in July, and this week executives said demand for its diesel-powered Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups remains strong despite record-high diesel prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Sales of Ford’s F-Series trucks, which include the F-150 and heavy-duty pickups, are down 11%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Boring also said it has finished an industrial tunnel at Tesla’s sprawling factory in Texas that has made it easier to transport finished Cybertruck electric pickups.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

Cumulatively, zero-emission vehicles now make up roughly 1 in 12 cars and pickups on California roads, and nearly 1 in 6 new cars sold in the state is fully electric.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Before long there were twenty late pickups per week, more than double the original average.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Related Words

• acceleration